Nearly a year has gone to waste without any meaningful intervention or effective governance as Manipur grapples with intermittent clashes, devastation of homes and forced displacement of the people, including women and children, young men leaving home to defend the fringe villages, womenfolk on constant night vigil and a population gripped by collective trauma. And neither the state nor the Centre seems bothered with the task of quelling the deep-seated divide, hatred and animosity between communities.
Meanwhile, leaders and hate-mongers continue to fan the communal fires to distract the general population from the reality of a power struggle between politicians. We are not trying to say that there is no narco-terrorism, illegal infiltration, devastation of the environment and fertility of the soil through unchecked settlement in forest areas and poppy cultivation besides drug smuggling and rampant drug abuse. These issues are very much there at the core of the present chaos and mayhem. Yet, one must also try to analyse what and which circumstances really triggered the ethnic clashes.
People who love to jump to conclusions before analysing the reality or being grounded here used to say the controversial High Court of Manipur decision on ST status for the Meitei community ignited the clashes. They did not seem to realise that the High Court decision was only a handy tool used by certain elements to ignite passions and tribal sentiment. Tragedy is, Union Home Minister chose to highlight the same High Court order as the cause of the ethnic clashes.
Moves on the power chessboard have already been made days before that as passions were intentionally aroused over the incident of eviction of encroachers of forest land in Churachandpur district leading to burning of an open gym a night before the scheduled launch by the Chief Minister and it was in April, 2023. By then, passions of Kuki common folk against the state government were being slowly built up on the issue of government interference in their ‘ancestral land’ while the real issue was of state action against poppy cultivation.
Meanwhile, questions were also raised on the sincerity of the government in dealing with the drug smugglers and cartel bosses over the controversial case of Lhukhosei Zou even with the ‘War on Drugs’ campaign going on. And some powerful elements took advantage of the power struggle within the ruling party by using the dissenters as pawns to create tension and mayhem. And the powers that be took it as a personal affront and instead of settling the issue within the party itself they brought it in the public domain.
Tragedy is, the central leaders chose not to interfere or quell the revolt within. As one could see, passions were intentionally aroused on both sides of the fence in a bid to hide the real struggle within. While the leaders and those controlling them make their moves on the chessboard, common people on both sides become victims of the mayhem. It is only the commoners who are dying and missing as thousands are displaced with no hope of returning to their original home and hearth. As we look back in anger, one only sees the devastation of ordinary lives and homes lost while the leaders go on mulling their next move in the political chessboard. And the contradiction is only about how to weather the storm and survive on one hand and how to effect a change of guard.
